CBJ launches sustainability website

JUNEAU — The city and borough of Juneau has launched a website to promote green energy and sustainability.

The site, which launched Monday, offers information on sustainability in Alaska’s capital, such as how to keep energy costs down and limit greenhouse gas emissions, and which construction products and methods are the most efficient.

The site also lists some energy sources that are specific to Juneau, and even includes a downloadable spreadsheet that residents can use to see how much they are spending on energy.

“In some ways, it’s trying to bring together resources in one place,” said Beth McKibben, the staff liaison for the Commission on Sustainability, which was established in 2007 to investigate how to make Juneau a greener city.

Launching a website is one of the ideas outlined in the Climate Action Plan that the city adopted in 2011.

The primary goal the plan is to reduce communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2032.

Many of the steps outlined have to do with disseminating and sharing information and tactics that could help cut the city’s energy consumption. It also mentions buying a hybrid-electric bus for the city’s downtown public transportation and updating the city’s infrastructure so it can become more bike-friendly.

The website is the first step that has been completed.

Since the Commission on Sustainability is a volunteer initiative without paid staff, things tend to move slowly, McKibben said.

Right now, the website is still somewhat bare bones, but it is a dynamic project, so it will be consistently updated to include new information.